The magnetic behavior of giant magnetostrictive TbFe/FeCo multilayers show
that individual layers of as-deposited multilayers in their demagnetized st
ate are single domain due to stray-field coupling between adjacent layers.
Such multilayers do not show a collective behavior during magnetization rev
ersal. In contrast, stress-free films obtained by annealing at 543 K for 1
h subdivide themselves into multiple domains to lower their overall energy,
and show a collective magnetization behavior. An interesting observation i
s the dynamic formation and collapse of magnetoelastically induced domains
in TbFe layers in annealed multilayers during reversal. (C) 1999 American I
nstitute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)43808-3].